Our Projects
We have a wide range of social and development activities to fill needs in the community, as well as improve the overall wellbeing of our residents. Many of our activities are run by volunteers. Interested in getting involved? Be sure to contact us!
Ballyhaunis Language Cafe
This local platform allows locals of all backgrounds to meet and engage weekly in English, French, Spanish, Italian, Slavic, and Irish. Grant support from Conrad na Gaeilge allowed the café to offer weekly Irish classes and hold various Irish cultural events. SICAP funds allowed the English café to hold weekly meet-ups in town.
Bike Repair Clinic
Our Bicycle Repair Clinic which was a recipient of the Cathaoirleach’s Award for best environmental (transport) initiative at this year’s Cathaoirleach’s Awards hosted by Mayo County Council, a testament to the group’s value to the community of the monthly clinics which are always very busy, enabling locals to make sustainable travel choices.
Defibrillator Project
This community group was founded in 2009 to maintain the community Automated External Defibrillators in locations around Ballyhaunis to immediately treat heart emergency.
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Training courses in CPR techniques for members of the community and instruction in how to use defibrillators are also provided. Join the Ballyhaunis Defibrillator Group on Facebook by clicking the link below.
Community Hall
The Ballyhaunis Community Hall serves to enrich and enhance the town’s social and artistic well-being. Built in 1940, the Hall has hosted bingo nights, youth discos, community theatre, Irish dance performances, trad sessions, choral practices and markets along with many private functions, sports clubs, and children's programmes.
Community Futures
The Community Futures Project is an initiative led by Mayo County Council for local communities to put together a 5-year Community Action Plan for their community. Everyone in our community was given the chance to feed into a local Action Plan for the development of Ballyhaunis.
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More about the Mayo Community Futures plan can be found on the Mayo County Council website.
Genealogy and Heritage
Our collaboration with Mayo Sligo Leitrim Education Training Board (MSLETB) allowed us run a popular genealogy programme in coordination with Mayo Genealogy Group, giving locals the knowledge and know-how to research their family trees. This programme also featured guest lectures by historians as well as presentations of films on Irish history and heritage.
Ballyhaunis Tidy Towns
The Ballyhaunis Tidy Towns Committee focuses on making the local environment and surrounding neighbourhood a better place to live, work and visit. The group is run entirely by volunteers who enhance the town and its environs by way of flower and shrub planting, litter collection and promotion of environmental awareness in the community.
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Games Evenings
A fortnightly board and card games evening that brings out a large cohort of chess, draughts and 25 card afficionados is one of our efforts to combat loneliness and encourage integration as well as keeping memories sharp.
Local Link
Local Link aims to provide quality nationwide community-based public transports in rural Ireland that responds to local needs. We work with Local Link Mayo to coordinate the delivery of community transport services under the Local Link brand for the NTA with support from Mayo County Council. Click to learn more about Local Link Mayo.
Irish Gaeilge Classes
The popular Gaeilge for beginners and improvers programme is run in conjunction with the Ballyhaunis Language Cafe. These classes are taught by an Irish instructor in a fun and immersive environment suitable for adults and children.
Community representation on the Abbey Partnership and Abbey Trust
Ballyhaunis Community Council represents the local community on the Ballyhaunis Abbey Partnership which was established in June 2002 to manage the Augustinian abbey and grounds after the Augustinian Order's decision to withdraw from the town in 2001. The property was left to the local community through the Abbey Trust, a formal entity which holds a 999 year lease on the abbey. The Partnership typically meets monthly but sub committees meet more regularly.
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Made up of local community bodies and Mayo County Council, the Abbey Partnership has sought to maintain and develop the overall Augustinian property, ensuring that it remains an invaluable social amenity for the people and families of Ballyhaunis and surrounding areas.
Projects and activities made possible with the support of these groups
